Welcome to the first ever episode of “The C Word Presents: Fan Theory Fridays” In this series we will be delving into “Pop-Culture conspiracy theories,” the most interesting fan-theories about our favourite movies and tv shows, ranging from the plausible to the downright bizarre. My co-host for this series is my lovely wife Adrienne, welcome to the show babe. Fan Theory Fridays Episode 1 -- Toby Flenderson is the Scraton Strangler https://i.redd.it/kffi267c19j41.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7Mmx6pN.jpg Sources: https://www.newsweek.com/toby-scranton-strangler-office-fan-theory-1445008 This fan theory comes to us from Reddit user /u/domoarigatodrloboto ​ tl;dr: In the first few seasons of The Office, Toby Flenderson is often shown to be a sad-sack, failure, the object of ridicule and a punching bag for Michael Scott. The show catalogues his divorce, his unluckiness pursuing other women (Pam, etc.) as well as in other social situations. After losing Pam to Jim in Seasons 3 and 4, Toby abandons hope for happiness in Scranton and attempts to start over in Costa Rica. He ultimately has a horrific zip-lining accident, and ends up in traction healing for many weeks. At this point, his frustration and disappointment with life builds to a crescendo, and ultimately he releases it by becoming the infamous Scranton Strangler over the course of The Office’s later seasons. PLAY CLIP: “If I had a gun with two bullets and I was in a room with Hitler, Bin Laden, and Toby, I would shoot Toby twice.” https://youtu.be/zIoqlLU4E74?t=62 In the Season 5 episode “The Surplus,” Toby is explaining the "silent killers" asbestos as radon that could be in the office. Michael responds "You're the silent killer," when Toby eerily responds: "You'll see." This for me is one of the more interesting pieces to this theory. There’s something about the way he says it that makes my skin crawl. PLAY CLIP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG9JKHx_slg Toby: We should really have the office's air quality tested. We have radon coming from below. We have asbestos in the ceilings. These are silent killers. Michael Scott: You are the silent killer. Go back to the annex. Toby: You'll see. Given that this is a C or maybe even a D Plot on the show, there isn’t a whole lot of evidence to back it up, but there is some, like the aforementioned clip. Additionally fans have examined where Toby was during key moments, and how he reacted to those events. To celebrate the birth of Cecilia Halpert, Andy purchases a commemorative copy of the ​ ​ ​ ​ day's newspaper. Unfortunately, the headline for the day she was born is "Scranton ​ strangler strikes again." Many fans point to this as Toby, who is obsessed with Pam, ​ being unable to control his urges during this momentous event. Toby tries to attend the Christening of Pam and Jim's daughter, Cece, at a church, but can't bring himself to go inside. There's no real explanation why he had trouble facing the church. However, fans have speculated that after committing a series of brutal crimes, he couldn’t bring himself to enter a place of worship. In (Viewing Party), the cold open features a police standoff and car chase against the Scranton Strangler. Toby is the only member of the office who isn't there at the ​ time. The phone rings at Toby's desk in which the staff is watching the standoff , Erin ​ ​ was not at reception, therefore, she could not dispatch the call to his desk which could mean that it was Toby in the car being chased and perhaps he was calling the ​ office to confess or apologize. Seconds after Kelly hangs the phone up, the chase passes the office, presumably ending with his capture? But we don’t have any confirmation of this. The next time we hear anything about the case, a man by the name of George Howard Skub is on trial for the murders. ​ ​ Fans have also noted the car the Strangler is apparently driving has been seen parked in the Dunder Mifflin parking lot before. This possibly suggests the Strangler works in the building. Because we know Toby is the only missing employee, it could be possible that it's his car. https://i.imgur.com/7Mmx6pN.jpg Toby is also, very conveniently, a member of the Jury that convicts Skub. Though as the series progresses he seems to think Skub was actually innocent: In the episode "Michael's Last Dundies" Toby, while receiving his Extreme ​ ​ Repulsiveness Award, uses his acceptance speech as a platform to announce to the audience that he was part of the jury that found the alleged Scranton Strangler guilty and sentenced him to death, but he is "not so sure he's guilty anymore". No more is ​ ​ revealed as Toby is cut off by Dwight, who begins playing "Oh Yeah" by Yello over his acceptance speech. In the episode “Dwight Christmas” Toby notes that it’s the anniversary of the trial of ​ ​ ​ the Scranton Strangler (and reveals his real name). Nellie, who has never heard of him, listens to Toby tell his story of when he was on the jury. Toby reveals how he did his own research on fingerprinting and began to think that he was innocent. In Season 9 Episode 6: “The Boat” Toby “confesses” to Oscar that he believes he has ​ ​ put an innocent man in jail. Toby​: A few years ago, when I was on the jury of the Scranton Strangler.. Oscar:​ Sure. Toby:​ I always thought he might have been set up but I felt pressured to convict. Oscar:​ That’s gotta be tough. Toby:​ Tough? I put an innocent man on death row. Nearing the end of the series Toby visits George Howard Skub in prison, to try to “cleanse his conscience.” However, this turns out poorly when Skub tries to strangle ​ Toby. Many fans believe that this was Skub’s reaction to learning that it was in fact Toby that was the strangler. Toby also writes Crime-Fiction “The Flenderson Files.” Fans argue Toby would likely research crimes and murders. Because he had this knowledge, perhaps this is how he evaded capture? .